Pre-Factory PRS Special | Annapolis Era (1990) | Demo & Review

Welcome to Episode 9 of The Guitar Vault Archive! Today we uncase an exceptionally rare vintage piece: a 1990 Paul Reed Smith Special in Translucent Vintage Cherry. Built in the original Annapolis, Maryland workshop five years before the move to Stevensville in 1995, this pre-factory model represents the golden era of Paul's early production. Designed for the high-octane rock player of 1990, it features an all-mahogany construction, a pre-CNC hand-carved small neck heel, a genuine Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, the proprietary Mil-Com one-piece cast brass tremolo, and original winged locking tuners. In this deep dive, we break down the unique construction, demonstrate each of the 5 distinct tonal combinations on the classic rotary pickup selector with the original HFS and Vintage Bass humbuckers, and run through complete clean and high-gain audio demos. 🎸 TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Tahoe's Studio Intro 🐕 0:10 - Performance Track Demo 1:50 - Welcome & Annapolis Pre-Factory History 2:10 - Neck Profile & Player Feel 2:41 - 1-Piece Mahogany Body & Translucent Cherry Finish 3:00 - Hardware Specs: One-Piece Mil-Com Brass Tremolo 3:20 - HFS & Vintage Bass Pickups Breakdown 3:35 - Brazilian Rosewood Board & Pre-CNC Small Heel 4:15 - Headstock, Slip-Nut & Winged Cam Tuners 4:42 - 5-Way Rotary Switch Demo (Clean Tones) 5:34 - 5-Way Rotary Switch Demo (High-Gain Tones) 6:21 - Pre-Factory History & Real-World Condition 6:52 - Rotary Switches: Love Them or Hate Them? 7:09 - Next Episode Preview: Jackson X Series CDX22 7:22 - Tahoe Trail Walk Outro 🌲🐾 🎸 SPEC HIGHLIGHTS: • Model: 1990 PRS Special • Origin: Annapolis, MD Workshop (Pre-Factory) • Body: 1-Piece Solid Mahogany • Neck: Mahogany (Wide-Thin Profile, Pre-CNC Small Heel) • Fingerboard: Brazilian Rosewood with Moon Inlays (24 Frets) • Bridge: Mil-Com One-Piece Cast Brass Tremolo • Tuners: Schaller / PRS Winged Cam Locking Tuners • Pickups: PRS HFS (Bridge) / Vintage Bass (Neck) • Switching: 5-Way Rotary Selector • Audio Processing: Fractal Audio FM3 👉 Watch Next: Want to see another all-mahogany Maryland workhorse? Check out the original 2008 PRS Mira in Episode 6:    • The Original PRS Mira (2008) | The Most Un...   If you love vintage Paul Reed Smith history, pre-factory rarities, and deep studio tone breakdowns, please LIKE, COMMENT, and SUBSCRIBE to support the archive! #PRS #PaulReedSmith #PRSSpecial #PreFactoryPRS #VintagePRS #AnnapolisPRS #BrazilianRosewood #FractalFM3 #AlpineChords #TheGuitarVaultArchive